Michelle O’Neill fails to give commitment that NI Executive’s chaos of last week won’t be repeated in a fortnight

Facing questions from MLAs in the Assembly for the first time since Thursday’s belated deal to extend restrictions for a week before starting to relax them, Ms O’Neill criticised the DUP, said that the other Executive parties could not absolve themselves of their role in the Executive – but did not explicitly accept her own role in what unfolded.

The DUP and Sinn Fein had left the decision to the last minute, despite a clear recommendation having been given to them by the Health Minister, and then both parties sought to formulate their own plan to relax restrictions contrary to medical advice, before Sinn Fein abandoned that idea.

SDLP MLA Colin McGrath said that the Executive had been “an embarrassment and an example of how not to reach decisions”. He asked her if she could guarantee that the “shambles” of last week would not be repeated and that there would be a timely decision on restrictions well before November 27 when bars are meant to reopen.

Ms O’Neill said she wanted the Executive to do more to tackle the virus, and that they needed to both “reflect on last week and make sure that it isn’t repeated again”.

However, when asked by UUP MLA Robbie Butler if she could commit future Executive decisions would be made in good time rather than the “lamentable” confusion last week, Ms O’Neill failed to do so.

The Sinn Féin minister said that she had been supportive of the Health Minister – although based on Ms O’Neill’s own words, it is clear that last weekend she was planning to go against his recommendation to extend restrictions and instead move to relax those measures.

She added that she had “tried to find consensus the whole way through” and that the Executive “has to find a way to be as fulsome with the public as we can, and tell them how difficult it is, and tell them how challenging these decisions are. But the best thing we can do is communicate clearly”.

Ms O’Neill said the Executive is “currently planning” how to handle the next few months, alluding to the continued absence of such a plan some eight months into the pandemic.

Ms O’Neill said that “last week was unedifiying on [sic] everybody – not one party, not two parties, but every party that sits round that Executive table”.

Ms O’Neill said it was “a matter of profound concern and regret” that last week the DUP had used “a mechanism there to protect minority rights” to veto what the other parties wanted to do.

UUP leader Steve Aiken criticised the “divisive” use of the DUP’s veto and asked Mrs Foster and Ms O’Neill if they would commit to never again use their vetoes on health issues.

Ms O’Neill responded: “I think in these sorts of discussions we should also inject a little bit of honesty into them. It wasn’t two parties that used a cross-community vote; it was one party.”

Independent MLA Claire Sugden put it to her that all five parties signed up to enter government in the knowledge that the veto could be legitimately used as it was last week. When asked if she would commit to abolishing it, suggesting that by not doing so she would be suggesting that “at some point, when politics suit, it will be used again”, Ms O’Neill said that what had happened was the fault of the DUP.

She said that the mechanism was “there to protect minority” rights – although earlier today First Minister Arlene Foster highlighted in the Assembly that this is not mentioned in the legislation – and that it was the “appalling” use of the mechanism for a health matter which was the issue.

She added: “I wouldn’t use it; I could have blocked the last decision in the Executive, but I chose not to – because it’s a public health crisis; this isn’t about minority rights”.

People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll asked Ms O’Neill if she defended the ‘living with covid’ strategy rather than putting in place a ‘zero covid’ plan such as that in New Zealand.

Ms O’Neill said: “Well, the member will know that we’re not New Zealand. We’re Ireland, and we’re very challenging in dealing with this strategy [sic].”

She added: “I’ve always been clear in saying from the very start that we needed to have an all-island approach, I actually think we should have had a two-island approach from the very outset...when we say ‘co-exist’ or ‘live with’, I think the best way is to find a way to live through this pandemic – because we have to live through the pandemic.”

Green Party leader Clare Bailey asked how the public could have confidence in an Executive which had “a track record of chaos” which “continues to act as its own opposition”.

Ms O’Neill went on to say that “all I can say to the public is that I will continue to lead and to steer us through what is the most challenging of times”.

Ms O’Neill, who openly broke her own Executive’s public health guidance – and is currently awaiting a police interview about that – by attending the funeral of IRA commander Bobby Storey, also urged the public to follow the rules.

She said: “The vast majority of society is following the public health advice and in doing so are keeping people safe and undoubtedly saving lives.

“To those who are considering going against the public health guidance and regulations, I ask you to think carefully. Your decision could be detrimental to our efforts to reduce transmission of this deadly virus. Your decision could also be detrimental to the health and wellbeing of your loved ones, and to the capacity of our health service to cope.”

She added: “We need to continue to follow the public health advice”.

Referring to Ms O’Neill’s own behaviour, TUV leader Jim Allister said that her statement “contains some great words, if they weren’t so empty, falling from the lips of the deputy First Minister” and asked Ms O’Neill if she would apologise for her actions which undermined the public health message.

Ms O’Neill dismissed the question, saying she had answered it before “and I have nothing new to add to that”.

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